فصلنامه تاریخ اسلام
پیاپی 35-36 (پاییز و زمستان 1387)

Many domestic and foreign factors had been involved in triggering Iran's Constitutional Revolution. This paper intends to investigate the role played by the Ottoman Empire in the Iranian Constitutional Movement. The Ottoman Empire was influential in different ways in both the preparation of intellectual grounds for the Revolution and the practical chain of events that took place daring the Revolution itself. Part of this influence goes back to the fact that the Turkish Government had initiated sociopolitical reforms before the imperial government of Iran, and this had caused the Iranian reformists to look at Turkish reforms as a good model for adaptation and adoption. Another part of the Turkish influence on Iranian reforms and reformists was related to the permanent rivalries between the two states. Yet another reason was the heavy presence of Iranians of all walks of life, and in particular merchants, in the Ottoman Empire that naturally caused their being influenced by various developments in the Turkish realm.

Different groups of the society play different roles in the preserv ation of cultural, religious, economic, political, military and otherwise achievements. Dihghanan (Deyhkanan), meaning landlords, are considered to be among the higher noble classes of society in both pre – Islamic and post – Islamic Iran. They enjoyed great respect and steem with the common people and governments both. Doing their utmost, they made good use of their capacity for tolerance and nobility to keep the Iranian culture on its feet. In fact beside their immense role in keeping the Iranian culture alive, these landlords were among the most diligent people in the advancement and progress of the Iranian culture and civilization themselves.

Art is one of the major Branches of Islamic Civilization that grew and spread along with other branches of this civilization, manifesting itself in many different fields and spheres of the Muslim life. Although Islamic Art, and in particular Islamic Architecture, had its roots in pre – Islamic art and had embarked on adaptations from those more ancient styles of art, the independent innovations and eclectic taste of Muslims can clearly be seen in this World – renown Art. The Alhambra Complex is the most outstanding example of the peak of Islamic Art in Andalusia which itself is a subgenre of the overall Islamic Art in the westernmost lands of Muslim political domains ruled by the Bani – Nasr Dynasty at the time.Explaining the political position of the Bani–Nasr Government, this paper also introduces and describes the various parts of Alhambra, their major artistic and architectural significance, the influence of religion in the construction of this magnificent complex, and the reasons for its survival up until today.

The main question of this paper is: what were the reasons for the Muslim invasions of India. Were these invasions carried out to spread Islam and in line with fulfilling the duty of jihad against the pagans, or other reasons such as conquering the riches of India and dominating its strategic importance in areas such as trade and the like had also been involved in such invasions? In this paper, the geographical situation of India, India's situation at the time of Muslim invasions, and also the circumstances of these invasions in two different stages, first in the 1st century A. H. and second during the Ghaznavid period, have been studied. In all the different periods, war against the infidels, the spread of Islam, and the protection of Muslim inhabitants of India have been cited as motives to carry out such invasions. Still, it does not seem reasonable to overlook motives such as conquest, power – mongering, and greed to attain the infinite wealth of that fabulous country as being at least partially responsible to motivate Muslims to undertake their invasions of India.

The Mongol invasion of the west engulfed central Asia, Iran and Baghdad causing death and destruction on a scale never seen in history of warfare before. A number of Shiah and Sunni writers hold Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi responsible for the bloody sack of Baghdad While the Shiah cite at-Tusi's goal the promotion of Islam, the sun view his intention as destruction of Islam, nasir ad-Din at-Tusi is a prominent thinker whose important administrative position at the Mongol court and his endorsement of Haulage's invasion of Baghdad on the one hand, and his wide spread scientific, technical and astronomical studies on the other, have made him a controversial figure in the history of Islam. It seems that This had been the subject of misjudgment by his proponents and opponents both. This paper deal with the extent of Tusi's involvement or lack of involvement in the Mongol Sacking of Baghdad.

Husayn ibn Farra', known as Abu Yali, was a scholor of Hanbali school in Baghdad towards the end of the rule of caliph Al – Ghadir and also of Al – Ghaim. Though the father of Ibn Farra' was a follower of Hanafi school of law, after he died, Ibn farra was trained and indoctrinated in the Hanbali school and ultimately joined this creed. During Ibn Farra's time, The Buyids dominated Baghdad to such an extent that caliph Al – Ghadir was only able to manage to ascend the throne with the help of Buyid Bahaudawlah. In this period, The position of the caliphate because of the domination of the Buyids over Baghdad had been weakened though during Al –Ghadir And Al – Ghaim's rules the conditions slightly improved for the caliphs. Perhaps, for this same reason, Al – Ghadir decided to invite the prominent Sunni scholars to compile and work on Islamic law (fighh). Since the institution of caliphate had lost ground in its confrontation with the institution of Monarchy during these times, Ibn Farra' decided to write a book and promote the strengthening of the pillars of caliphate.He tried to ontline his opinions about the caliphate, the ministrial position, and Imamah, pointing out the relationship between the chief minister and the king on the one hand and the caliph on the other, and hoping to boost the power of the institution of the caliphate this way.

The Encyclopedia of Islam is known to be the primary source of Islamic studies in the West. Nevertheless. the articles of this important reference book and the overall picture of Islam depicted in it need to be investigated and critiqued.This paper while introducing Joseph Elias and his works, reviews and critiques (Imam) Hasan Askari (A) Entry, his only article in the Encyclopedia of Islam.

This bibliography includes 270 books, articles and dissertations written on "Beihaghi's History". The article deals with "Beihaghi's History" from the view of disciplines such as history, historio graphy, geography, sociology, culture, philosophy, ethics, political science, lexicography, manuscriptology, composition, linguistics, syntax and hermeneutics. In addition, the article tries to introduce different corrections and explanations, and various editions of "Beihaghi's History", plus its Arabic, English and Russian translations. The Braille and audio copies of the work have also been presented in the article. The span and diversity of the entries in this article can be helpful in opening up new horizons for students of history when dealing with new history sources in the future.

Has there been a change of structure in the history of Turkish and Syrian Alawites? This is a question on which we will focus in this article to study the similarities and differences between the two.In early 20th century, old discriminations by the Ottomans against these two groups came to an end. The policies of Kemal Ataturk in Turkey and also France in Syria opened all doors to the Alawites of these two societies so much so that each one of them managed to have lasting effects on their respective communities. The political influence of these two groups has significantly increased in the last seventy years. Change in the social and economic conditions necessitated a greater understanding of the Alawite's new situation. Such changes were in fact and answer to the expansion and development of their communities compared to other groups in Turkey and Syria; elements that were both additive and dubtractive at the same time.